Zippe received his Ph.D. in medicine and philosophy from the University of Prague. In 1819, he became adjunct professor of chemistry at the technical institute in Prague. In 1826, he was appointed the first custodian of the mineral collection at the newly erected national museum, and from 1835 to 1849, Zippe was professor of natural history at the technical institute of Prague. In 1849, he was for a short period the director of the newly formed Mountain school in Pribřam. In 1850, he was appointed professor ordinary of mineralogy at the University of Vienna. He was a founding member of the Vienna Academy of Science.

Very scarce. A typical textbook of mineralogy, less successful than others of the time, owing to its one and only printing. The text provides definitions, nomenclature, descriptions of physical and chemical properties, and a descriptive mineralogy.